There’s an elephant in the room and no one wants to talk about it. We are surrounded by carefree articles on how to travel the world and be the happiest person alive.
No one’s talking about the money it takes to sustain this lifestyle…
Everyone says just go, just do it, you’re only young once. There’s just one problem with that statement, no matter where you are going and how much of a bargain hunter you are, it will cost money to get there.
So how do you actually do it?! How do you get to the point where your only worry is a little sand on you?!
Yes, by all means we think you should just drop everything and go!
But we know what it’s like to take the steps from broke college student to full time traveler to make it there. You have to plan and budget not just dream and penny save. You have to set a goal and actually go for it, not just think about it. So we are going to talk about money.
Probably the number one thing holding you back from traveling, we know it was ours. And we are here to tell you, do not let money hold you back from this dream! There is always a solution, let’s create it…
Budgeting 101:
We get it…
You have to pay off student loans, pay outrageous rent, keep the lights on, pay for internet, groceries, gas, the list is endless.
So how can you manage your money wisely and still have savings? We have started a budget book for ourselves. At the beginning of each month we set a goal; a goal on how much we are making, spending and how much we want to save. At the end of the month we track how much we spent in six different categories (restaurants, groceries, gas, entertainment, shopping and other). This is an eye opener for how much you are spending on stuff you don’t even realize you’re spending on!!!
Pro Tip: Try using an app to keep track of your expenses! We love Clarity Money App, you can connect all of your accounts and it does the sorting for you.
Manage your bills wisely
Your bills aren’t going to magically poof! Go away (don’t we all wish), but you can manage them before they get out of hand.
Traveling when you have massive amounts of debt is most likely just going to add onto that debt then your whole life you will be playing the catch up game and constantly worrying about money… Don’t do that.
Instead, map out how quickly you can take care of your debt and focus on that. If you have a credit card bill, suspend use until you completely pay it off. Loans? Start paying more then the minimum payment, it will add up in the end.
Debt isn’t bad, it just means you chose to pay something off over time. Make a plan and move on with your life.
Make sure in the beginning of the month you know how much you need for bills, then take the rest of the money, divvy it out to necessary categories (food, gas, emergency fund). The final amount you have, instead of spending it on “wants” save it for travel.
Stop eating out
You’ve heard it before, we’ll tell you again. Eating out really, really adds up.
The week that we moved, we didn’t have any groceries. So we ate out a lot! Not only were our stomachs unhappy but our wallets were too. You can easily blow hundreds of dollars on restaurants a month whereas if you manage your grocery bills correctly you can cut those costs way down.
If you don’t want to cut it out completely, choose a certain amount each month for eating out and stick to that as you plan your meals!
Save your pennies and dollars
Start a “dreams jar.” Put a little jar in your house for spare change, everything adds up! Even throw some dollars in there every now and then. If you helped with a random job for the weekend and made $20 throw it in the jar instead of spending it on clothes or booze.
It may not be a lot but you could save some good extra cash you didn’t even know you were losing.
Even after becoming six figure earners, we still keep a change jar around. It’s fun to watch your pennies add up and then we treat ourselves to something special every year with it!
Start a Side Hustle
Want to travel more but feel like your bank account is holding you back? Here’s a simple fix: EARN MORE.
We didn’t start as six figure earners, we started by making an extra $100 a month… then $200… then $500… then $1000… all the way up to $20,000 a month.
We may be a little bias, but we think a side hustle is the best way to afford the travel lifestyle. You can keep it as a fun side hustle that funds your travels or build it all the way up to a full time business like we did!
The Big One: Master your Money Mindset
This was the GAME CHANGER for us. Budgeting and saving are great, but until we mastered our money mindset, we didn’t have the space to become six figure earners. You have to stop saying “I’m broke” or “I can’t afford it” and start shifting into what you can create.
Check out our number one recommended money mindset book, this is what really changed the game for us: You Are A Badass At Making Money
You CAN do this! You CAN become a world traveler, starting with kicking the money excuse to the curb!
See you around the globe!
